History of the Kippah

The most commonly known and recognized piece of Jewish garb is the yarmulke.  It is usually, but not really correctly, pronounced "yammica" and is Yiddish. According to Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish, it comes from a Tartar word meaning skullcap.  According to some Orthodox and Chassidic Rabbis, it comes from the Aramaic words "yerai malka" (fear of or respect for The King.)  The Hebrew word for this head covering is kippah (pronounced key-PAH).

It is an ancient practice for Jews to cover their heads during prayer.  This probably derives from the fact that in Eastern cultures, it is a sign of respect to cover the head.  The custom in Western cultures is the opposite: it is a sign of respect to remove one's hat.  Thus, by covering the head during prayer, one showed respect for God.  In addition, in ancient Rome, servants were required to cover their heads while free men did not; thus, Jews covered their heads to show that they were servants of G-d.  In medieval times, Jews covered their heads as a reminder that G-d is always above them.  Whatever the reason given, however, covering the head has always been regarded as custom rather than a commandment.  The Talmud contains several references to this practice, e.g. [Shabbat 156b] "Cover your head so that reverence for God be upon you."  The choice of design is up to the wearer and there are no specific rules for the shape of the kippah, its fabric, colors or pattern.

A kippah (whether you are a man or woman) is a reminder to consider before Whom we stand, to Whom we are speaking and that we are doing God's work.  As such, it can be a powerful tool of spirituality.  I urge those women who have been avoiding head covering to look beyond the traditional rationale and consider the added dimension to their davening experience that the wearing of a kippah may provide.  In Conservative Judaism, women called to the Torah must wear a head covering.  However, many women feel that the Bimah is no more sacred space than the rest of the room, only more public.  While all those on the Bimah must have their heads covered, women today, married or not, are wearing kippot for services and study.

Is there anything problematic about a tallit that does not have Hebrew writing (normally part of the prayer for putting on the tallit) on the neckband? ... Is there any kind of issue?  The answer below is excerpted from a sermon by Rabbi David Rosen, May 12, 2000.

The simple answer is "no." While it is common for tallitot (plural of tallit) to come with the tallit blessing written on the neckband, that is strictly for convenience and so one does not have to seek it out in the prayer book.  However, most of my tallitot do not have the blessing inscribed on a neckband, and it’s quite alright.

However, there is only one rule for a tallit: that it has tzitzit on the four corners.  In fact, the reason we wear a tallit at all is because of the tzitzit.  The Torah commands us in the well-known passage in the Shema that we should wear fringes on our garments.  In the biblical day, it was common to wear four-cornered garments and Jews were obliged to attach fringes, tzitzit, to these four corners.

When fashion changed and Jews no longer wore four-cornered garments, the obligation to wear tzitzit technically ended.  However, the desire to fulfill the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit was so great that the rabbis came up with an interesting idea: let us create a four-cornered garment which will then obligate us to wear tzitzit. Hence, the tallit, or four-cornered prayer shawl.

We wear a tallit every morning of the year except one: on Tishah b’Av (the 9^th of Av) in the summer.  And while the wearing of a tallit has traditionally fallen only on men, our Conservative Movement not only permits but strongly encourages women to wear tallitot as well.

Finally, if you are ever in an Orthodox shul and you see a post Bar-Mitzvah man not wearing a tallit, it is because of the widely-observed tradition that unmarried men do not wear a tallit.